Tenacious Bank Robber Gets Long Sentence - A 3rd Time

SANFORD — A bank robber with a penchant for disguises, guns and legal appeals tried a third time Friday to escape a long prison sentence but failed.

Seminole Circuit Judge O.H. Eaton Jr. sentenced Robert Krebs to 75 years in prison and 10 years on probation for stealing $8,300 from Combank near Longwood in 1981.

It was the same sentence Krebs has received twice before - in 1982 after his first trial and in 1987 after a second trial granted because Krebs accused his lawyer of incompetence. Friday's sentencing resulted from an appeal challenging Eaton's reasons for the stiff penalty.

The lanky 51-year-old arrived in court with feet shackled. Standing at a lectern, he gave a 15-minute argument on why he should receive seven to nine years in prison - the penalty recommended by state guidelines. His prepared speech and legal research did not sway the judge.

''I thought it was an appropriate sentence back when it was imposed,'' said Seminole Assistant State Attorney Tom Hastings. ''I do not think anything since then should have caused the sentence to be any less or any different.''

When Seminole County deputy sheriffs arrested Krebs in 1981, they found machine guns, pistols, knives, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, handcuffs, leg restraints, pre-cut surgical tape and other robbery tools in his three getaway cars parked at points along his escape route.

Krebs also had journals listing bank workers, their cars and work hours. He had diagrams of banks, a few bogus drivers' licenses and personal details about dozens of people from 16 states. He used such information to assume their identities and used many items for disguise - lifts in his shoes, cotton in his cheeks, fake skin, wigs and bandages.

In 1987, Eaton gave two reasons for exceeding the guidelines and giving Krebs 10 times the recommended sentence: premeditation and evidence that Krebs is a ''professional'' robber.

The 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach ruled that the judge should not have considered that the robbery was premeditated. But it also said that Krebs' professionalism still was sufficient reason for longer punishment.

Hastings said Krebs already has an attorney appointed to handle an appeal of Friday's sentence.